Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 88
Khilafat Centenary Huzur 0 b 0 prays at the Heavenly Graveyard in Qadian reminded members that the year 2005 would mark the centennial anniversary of the Promised Messiah's as original appeal. He explained that becoming a Moosi (one who participates in the system of wasiyyat) was a great source of purification and then expressed his desire to see an addition of 15,000 Moosian (plural of Moosi) within the year, so there could be 50,000 participants of this noble and purifying scheme. He set a target for the Jama' at that up to 50 percent of chanda-paying members (dues paying members) should become Moosian by 2008. He added, "This would be a modest offer to Allah the Almighty in thankfulness, which the Jama' at would be offering on the occasion of the centenary of khilafat. " In the following Friday sermon, he explained, "Those who sign up for wasiyyat not only particularly express their gratitude and increase themselves in taqwa (righteousness) , they also become a source of strength for the Jama ' at. " In a letter sent for a special issue of Al-Noor (Ahmadiyya Gazette, USA), he expressed his gratitude for the efforts of the American Jama 'at: "Allah be praised for providing this opportunity to the U. S. Jama 'at. I pra y to Allah to bless this publication in every respect and ma y the contents of the special issue enhance the knowledge and faith of man y people. " The AmericanJama'at has responded admirably. Muslim Passions Trounced In late 2005, the Muslim Ummah (the community, nation of the Holy Prophet s•w ) once again found itself in the middle of a political firestorm that would further cement the perception of Muslims as intolerant and fanatical. Europe and America were already active in portra ying Islam as medieval, but the ,. , , ~ ,. . . . . . ~ ) ,. ,. ~c iq -pt. . . :J · J~ events of 9/ 11 in America and political strife in Europe came to an ugly confrontation with the publication of what became known as the Danish Cartoons. The Muslim response-flag burnings, kidnapping , killings, -to these repugnant images gave the West more artillery with which to strike Islam. Many in the Ummah did not realize the negative impact of their reaction to these cartoons or perhaps simply did not care, but Huzur • ba delivered insightful sermons on this topic defending the character of the Hol y Prophet Muhammad saw. While he pointed out the hypocrisy of the freedom of speech banner under which the West disguises its attack on Islam, he also criticized the Muslim reaction to the cartoons. In a series of sermons that would later be published under the title Th e Bl esse d Model of the Holy Proph et Muhammadsaw and the Caricatures, he defended our Holy Prophet s •w by giving